The present disclosure relates to antimicrobial surfaces and methods of producing articles having antimicrobial surfaces, and more specifically, to nanostructures fabricated by metal assisted chemical etching for antibacterial applications.
Microorganisms are everywhere in our environment. Although many are harmless or even beneficial, some are pathogens that can cause disease or illness in human. One common route for transmission of infectious diseases is by contact with surfaces contaminated with infectious bacteria produced by an infected person. Many microbes such as viruses can survive for days on surfaces. Microbes can also grow and proliferate posing more safety and health risks.
Antimicrobial agents have been used in the past to protect surfaces from being colonized by microbes. The methods include introducing the antimicrobial agents to the surfaces to be treated via coatings. However, bacteria can develop resistance to the antimicrobial agents over time. Accordingly, alternative methods to provide an antimicrobial surface are desirable. It would be a further advantage if antimicrobial surfaces can be provided in a cost effective manner consistently on different types of materials.